BIOGRAPHY - PRESS

Press / Biography:

“I am about to pay Stephen probably the best compliment that I can think of. He sounds a LOT like Elvis Costello, James Taylor, Bono and Bob Dylan donated their collective man juice and had a son that combined every single best quality that they have. Stephen Lyons is beginning to renew my faith in good music. The genre he is pigeon holed in is Pop. I don’t see it. I don’t consider U2 pop and his music is certainly very similar to Bono’s work.
The vocals are so moving. They are pure and crisp. They have meaning and you can tell how much he enjoys his work and loves singing and writing music. Unlike many studio whored musicians and singers his work is on his sleeve. His emotions are there in front of you saying “look at me” and “take me as I am”. It is great and it is refreshing to hear purity in voice. That’s why I mentioned the artists that I did. They all have that same purity – that same joy of music.
The music is there and it is solidly performed, flawlessly sung and Stephen Lyons can certainly hold his own on a huge stage as an opening act or headliner as well as someone you could see sitting in a coffee house on a stool with just his guitar.
I could do without the Beatles sounding stuff just because I loved John Lennon and his music is unmistakable. I’m just a snob when it comes to anything that sounds like it could come out of their catalog. I would love to see what Stephen Lyons could do with some more edge – more rock to his style. He’d be unstoppable I think.”
-Mike Johnson (Hot Indie News 3/13/09)
“Emotive, spine tingling and heartfelt. This best describes singer/songwriter, Stephen Lyons' new album, "Fall"....Lyons' voice strikes an uncanny reminder of the beautiful and melodic voice of Morten Harket. The title track, "Fall, "Sapphire Snow" and "How Do You Know" really show what Stephen Lyons is all about. His version of Simon and Garfunkel's classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is smooth and heartfelt.”
-Black Label Reviews (7/08)

“Now, I use the term "extremely talented" not as an over exaggerated opinion but in the truest sense of the word…I make my way into Carney’s just as Stephen started his first song. As I watched him perform, I notice how Stephen enjoys sharing his enjoyment of performing. I have seen other performers in my life who are very stand-offish or full of "you people ought to consider lucky to be seeing me" arrogance. Yet there are a few performers who just simply take pleasure in performing for people that the audience can’t help feeling that they are an essential part of the performance and not just spectators. Stephen has developed into one of those performers...”

- John Alvarez, (Star & Wave, Cape May, NJ 3/13/08)

Biography:

‘FALL’ is the new album by Philadelphia based Singer/Songwriter, Stephen Lyons, produced by Grammy nominated, Philadelphia producer, Anthony Newett and independent producer, Jeff Barrett. The title track and another song on the album, ‘How Do You Know?’ hit number 1 on Indyreview for several weeks and tracked in the top 10 for over a month. Recently ‘FALL’ received an honorable mention by the New York Singer/Songwriter’s Circle. ‘FALL’ is a diverse album ranging in scope from the romantic and anthemic ‘FALL’ to the timeless Simon/Garfunkel classic, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’

Stephen Lyons performs with an extraordinarily talented five piece band backed up by Peter Trezzi on Drums, Ricardo Rodriguez and Adam Smith on Bass, Jeff Barrett on keys and Steve Shaffer on Lead Guitar. Their electric and captivating performances have earned them a strong and loyal following in the New York and Philadelphia music scenes. They’ve performed such venues as the Legendary Mercury Lounge, Bitter End, The Cutting Room, Crash Mansion, Cafe Vivaldi’s, Tin Angel (Philadelphia), North Star Bar (Philadelphia), and many others.

Stephen studied Bel Canto vocal technique under Barbara Washington-Grant at The University of the Arts, and studied Acting at De Sales University. Stephen is originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania. He has toured extensively as an actor appearing most notably as Jamie Wellerstein in the Drama Desk award winning musical, ‘The Last 5 Years’ by Jason Robert Brown (Reprising the role three times) and appearing in numerous other productions from classical to musical theatre. Recently Stephen appeared online as the patriotic country superstar, JT Kraig in The Onion News satire sketch piece, ‘Bomb New York’. Stephen also composes original music for stage productions and performed original music for the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festivals folk/rock production of As You Like It which earned a Lillie Stoates nomination for best production in the spring of 2001.